You thought Touge California was tough? It was only eight hours, 200 miles, and took place on pavement. This Datsun 240Z was built to tackle a rally that starts in Beijing, China, goes 10,000 miles through the Gobi Desert, Mongolia, Russia and most of Europe to finish in Paris, France.
Its standard L24 was bored out to 2.7 liters and runs lower compression to compensate for the lower-quality fuel that father and son team Chris and Tjerk Bury might encounter in some of the remotest areas on Earth. Other life-saving measures include skid plates, a roll cage, 26-gallon fuel cell. If that seems like Mad Max-style insanity to you, remember that the 240Z did win the Safari Rally. The car’s currently on a boat to China but you can still watch the The Smoking Tire‘s video below.
The Peking to Paris rally, which bills itself as “the most extraordinary journey possible in a motorcar,” goes from June 12 to 17. You can follow the exploits of this 240Z team on their Facebook page.
Awesome! Best of luck, guys!
Hate to break it to you Matt, but that’s clearly a Ferrari.
Can’t wait to see the race footage!
Wish them well although there is a Z also coming from Australia! Sadly, the car builder John Coffey, a legend in Z circles in the US was killed recently in a motorcycle accident. It would be good to see them do well to honor his work.